Multicar crash injures 4

STOCKTON - Four people were hospitalized after a fiery five-car crash at Airport and Harding ways Monday morning.

Keith Reid

STOCKTON - Four people were hospitalized after a fiery five-car crash at Airport and Harding ways Monday morning.

One man who was taken away in critical condition, and later upgraded to stable, was aided by two fast-acting people.

Stockton police Spokesman Officer Joe Silva said a Nissan Frontier pickup was traveling at a high speed on northbound Airport Way and rear-ended a line of cars waiting at a red light at the Harding Way intersection, causing a "chain reaction."

In the aftermath of the crash, a Ford Thunderbird was severely crunched and caught fire. Both a Honda Civic and a Hyundai sedan sustained major damage to their rear ends, and the Frontier was rolled over onto its roof, facing south.

Teo Yosores, 24, and his mother were at the front of the line in his two-door Honda Civic.

"I just got rear-ended, and we were pushed around the corner," he said. "We're lucky we weren't hurt. I didn't see anything coming."

Witnesses said the collision is one of the worst they've seen at the intersection, where fender benders are not uncommon.

Jake Puckett and Amir Tavakoli, both employees of an auto repair center on Airport and Harding ways, said the crash sounded like an explosion.

Both men raced to the aid of people involved in the crash. Tavakoli used a fire extinguisher to put out the Thunderbird's fire.

"We'd put out the fire, and it seemed like it was right on the gas tank, because once we had it out, it started again," Puckett said. "We had to keep putting it out."

Silva said investigators were continuing to assess how the crash occurred. The man in the Thunderbird was treated for serious injuries but was upgraded to stable by late Monday afternoon. The other three injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said.